Never let anybody tell you that you are overdressed. Nor should you let people say furry Primark sliders are not the correct footwear for scaling live volcanos. Or specifically the Nisyros Volcano.

I did plan to write a whole blog on our recent trip to Kos, to go with my other travel posts, but if I’m honest there isn’t that much to write about. Don’t get me wrong, the holiday was bloody brilliant – but hearing about me lolling round on a sunbed or wandering around town probably isn’t the most exciting. Though, you can see some of my photos from Kos here.

Nisyros however is well worth a mention.

Set between Kos and Tilos, the island is formed around a live volcano and is home to just over 1,000 residents. Normally I’m not a fan of coach trips, preferring to make my own way, but I fully recommend one here.

As you scale the sides of the volcano, you count your blessings you did not live on the island before cars were mainstream and local fisher men had to traipse all the way down to the coast whenever they wanted a bite to eat. There are four villages on the island, however as you travel higher and higher, most of your views will be of farm land or the coast.

Perhaps it is the hard, sun bleached fields or because the roads are so quiet. Either way, it’s easy to imagine what life must have been like in times gone by. Life before the never ending 9-5, notifications and FOMO.

On reaching the volcano there’s a small fee to enter. From there on in, your free to peer over the edge or descend into the crater. The path down is steep and unmade, but is generally busy. I managed to make it all the way down in sliders and mini dress, so as long as you go carefully, you should be ok. Whilst thinking of my minidress, be warned, the crater is surprisingly breezy.

I’m pretty sure during my visit some people saw a full moon as well as the volcano, lol.

Once inside, you can get even greater sense of scale than looking over the edge. Even with a few bus loads of tourists inside, it is huge. The walls rise up and parts of the floor quietly bubble way, emitting sulphuric smoke.

Oh didn’t I mention? Live volcanos are a lot smellier than you might think.

If you are planning a visit, I’d definitely take water with you. Sure, there’s a small shop/café near the entrance to the site, however it is generally packed full of people.

Also, after making your way into the centre of  the volcano, you don’t want to have to nip back up just because your bloody boiling. Mainly because, there’s no such thing as nipping.

Entering and leaving the crater take time, because no matter how hard you try, you just can’t  not stop to admire the views. To relish the feeling of being so small and so fleeting compared to the force of nature. I guess, it puts things into perspective.

So if you’re ever in the Aegean and have a day to spare, why not explore the Nisyros volcano.

Call me an optimist (or maybe delusional) but at the grand old age of 26 I like to think I know myself pretty well. I know it all might change, but for now I know what I value. I know what motivates me. I know why sometimes I act the way I do, even when it isn’t the best idea. Like investing in a semi-permanent black lipstick. (Who knew that was a bad idea? Lol)

Sometimes however, you need something unexpected to shine a light on other aspects of your personality. To help you learn more about your needs, your fears and help you grow.

Sometimes you need an unexpected invitation to Russia, for example.

Now there is a sentence I never thought I would write.

Craig’s mum, grandmother and family friend were planning a girls only trip to Russia – did I want to join?  For those that don’t know, Russia is one of my guilty obsessions. I love the history, the decadence of the Tsars and the mystery of Rasputin. It should have been an easy question to answer. Of course I’ll bloody come!

However something was niggling away at me, and I didn’t want to commit. When I was told they needed an answer within a day or two it felt like the death knell. I told myself it was the fear of traveling (and spending a week) with people I didn’t know well.  People that hadn’t seen me at my grumpy mid-flight worst.

But now, I think I understand the nerves. When I committed to the trip, all I knew was the dates and the fact it involved St Petersburg and Moscow. I was having to let go of control.

I couldn’t plan the route, stalk the hotels on trip advisor and generally have input in the decisions. I had to trust in the judgement of others. This may not sound like a big thing, but to me it is.

It means taking a step back when I already feel nervous, instead of pushing forward and grasping at a sense of control, for comfort.

I have no doubt it is going to be an amazing trip, and probably a once in a life time experience. But it’s also showing itself to be a learning curve, and a lesson in letting go.